Today's News

NEW YORK (AP) — Two jets involved in a fender bender at New York City's John F. Kennedy Airport will be inspected to determine the extent of their damage.

Air France Flight 7, bound for Paris, was taxiing on a runway when its left wingtip clipped the tail of a Comair commuter jet just after 8 p.m. on Monday and spun it nearly 90 degrees. Comair Flight 6293 had just landed from Boston.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says there were no injuries. He says both jets were towed away and will be inspected.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices slumped to near $108 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending losses from the previous session ahead of key reports on the impact of rising fuel costs on global crude demand.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was down $1.64 at $108.28 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $2.87 to settle at $109.92 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery was down $1.51 to $122.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher taxes have been missing from the fierce budget battle that nearly shut down the federal government. But President Barack Obama is about to put them on the table — at least a modest version that he had pushed before and then rested on the shelf.

Most economists and budget analysts say a comprehensive mix of spending cuts and tax increases is essential to any viable deficit-reduction plan. Yet few players in the negotiations have gone there.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan raised the crisis level at its crippled nuclear plant Tuesday to a severity on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, citing high overall radiation leaks that have contaminated the air, tap water, vegetables and seawater.

Japanese nuclear regulators said they raised the rating from 5 to 7 — the highest level on an international scale of nuclear accidents overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency — after new assessments of radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since it was disabled by the March 11 tsunami.

MAPLETON, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a small Iowa town had 15 minutes of warning before a tornado leveled more than half their community — a critical advantage in preventing any deaths or serious injuries, authorities said Monday.

The storm barreled through Mapleton on Saturday night with winds of more than 130 mph. But the worst injury was a mere broken leg.

Monona County Sheriff Jeff Pratt said he and his deputies, along with trained storm spotters, tracked the twister across the countryside and notified communities in its path to blow their warning sirens earlier than normal. That let people scramble into basements or seek other shelter.

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast's elected president used his troops and French tanks and air power to oust strongman Laurent Gbagbo, ending their four-month standoff on Monday by pulling him from his burning residence.

Images of Gbagbo being led into a room in a white undershirt were broadcast on television as proof of his capture even as he refused to sign a statement formally ceding power after losing November's election.

Residents of the commercial capital of Abidjan refrained from celebrating in public, still fearful of the hundreds of armed fighters that continued to prowl the streets, refusing to believe their leader had been arrested. Sporadic gunfire echoed across the city Monday night.

SENDAI, Japan (AP) — A strong new earthquake rattled Japan's northeast Monday as the government urged more people living near a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant to leave, citing concerns about long-term health risks from radiation.

The magnitude 7.0 aftershock came just hours after people bowed their heads and wept in somber ceremonies to mark a month since a massive earthquake and tsunami that killed up to 25,000 people and set off a crisis of radiation leaks at the nuclear plant by knocking out its cooling systems.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Charl Schwartzel gave this Masters a finish it deserved.

On an amazing Sunday at Augusta National, where the roars came from everywhere and for everyone and didn't stop until it was over, Schwartzel emerged from the madness by becoming the first Masters champion to close with four straight birdies.

His final putt from 20 feet curled into the side of the cup for a 6-under 66, the best closing round at the Masters in 22 years. It gave the 26-year-old South African a two-shot victory over Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day.

"Just an exciting day," Schwartzel said. "So many roars, and that atmosphere out there was just incredible. A phenomenal day."